1946, June 1956, May 1959 and January 1961 while the veteran continued as a Reserve Corps Officer were reported as showing no pertinent abnormalities other than the myopia. Examinations by this Administration in March 1946, May 1948, June 1950 and November 1954 also were negative for signs or symptoms of increased eye pathology and tumor. The possibility of his having been exposed to radioactivity was first mentioned by the veteran in his application for service connection for the eye disorders in October 1966. Medical Evidence: A statement from a medical doctor, in November 1966 revealed that he had attended the veteran from February 1959 to August 1963 for the eye defects. Surgery for cataract of the left eye had been performedin June 1960, and surgery for cataract of the right eye had been conducted in October 1960. In January casual, occasional, distant spectators. [this 1 | fellow serviceman] has suffered no deleterious effects from their curiosity. Accordingly, the Board is of the opinion that the association made between the disorder at issue and overexposure to radiation is purely speculative. Overexposure of the veteran to radioactivity during World War I service is not demonstrated by the service and postservice evidence on file. His cataracts and subsequent eye disorders and adenocarcinoma of the colon, all of which developed many years after service, are not shown to have been due to service injury or disease. 1961, the veteran had been involved in an automobile accident which resulted in a drop in his visual acuity of the right eye, detachment of the retina and surgical procedure. Bilateral cataract, retinal detachment of the right eye, and diplopia were diagnosed. Reports on file from an Army Hospital reflected treatment for the disorders since 1967 and adenocarcinoma of the colon with metastasis to the mesocolic nodes since February 1969. Information furnished by [another medical doctor] reveals that he had examined the veteran professionally since November 1969. He reported that during the 1950’s the veteran’s myopia had accelerated without apparent cause, and nuclear disintegration of the crystalline lens had been diagnosed by an opthalmologist who expressed surprise at the finding in a patient of relatively young age; that cataract surgery had been performed in 1960 with unfortunate sequeluae; that in 1968 the veteran had developed a gastric distress which ied to the finding of adenocarcinoma of the ascending colon in 1969. In the opinion of this medical doctor the untimely optical involvement was indicative of radioactivity, for it was notorious that the crystalline lens were peculiarly susceptible. He said that the colon was another area sensitive to radiation and that the biological effects were usually delayed. He further said that the emergence of classic symptoms in two susceptible areas was clear evidence that the symptoms were the result of the patient’s exposure. Another medical doctor gave an opinion in May 1970 that, based on the veteran’s history of exposure to radioactivity during 1945, the radiation might have contributed to the occurrence of cataracts. Findings of the BVA and Basis for Decision: \n finding that the veteran’s cataracts, subsequent eye disorders and adenocarcinoma of the colon were not shown to have been due to overexposure to radioactivity during World War II service, the Board said: Authorities have recognized that there is a minimum acceptablelevel of radiation which the body can absorb without producing harmful effects. In the veteran’s case the Board has no idea of the dose received by him, if any at all. His Army records do not indicate he was involved 28 Apparently, ' = A.0.° 2 of Examinations by the service department for various purposes in December either directly or indirectly with the handling of radioactive materials. The statement of the [fellow serviceman] suggests they were only o- exposure was recorded. Compound myopic astigmatism was noted on examination for his release from active duty. t ‘ 29